Breaking into the Tower to Kill a Rat
by Eizoku
Summary: When Sirius broke into Gryffindor Tower in PoA, what was he thinking? Well, find out here in this drawing-inspired short story. Please R & R!


Disclaimer: Heh. The usual. Must I say more?  
  
A/N: This is just a short something that I thought of while looking at a picture on the Elfwood website. I can't remember who drew it or what it was called, but it was a drawing of Sirius standing over Harry's four-poster bed while Harry was asleep. The artist said in her summary that it was from the PoA, and at first I was confused; that never happened! But then, I remembered how Sirius broke into the tower. The artist said that he MUST'VE at least searched the beds, so..  
  
I give you this little story of that scene in PoA, from our dear Sirius's point of view.  
  
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**Breaking into the Tower to Kill a Rat**  
  
Silently, Sirius crept along the corridor toward Gryffindor Tower. He wrapped his right hand firmly around the long, deadly knife concealed in his tattered gray robes. In his other hand inside his pocket, he clutched a small scrap of parchment that was his key to the Tower. Just one corner left, and he would come in sight of the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
Pausing at the corner, he pushed the tangle of filthy long hair from his shadowed eyes. His grip on the knife tightened. Then, as he was unable to sense anyone approaching, he stepped into sight of the portrait guarding Gryffindor Tower. Sirius blinked as he realized that the Fat Lady's portrait had not been repaired - it had been replaced all together!  
  
'I didn't think I had harmed her,' he thought in puzzlement. 'She fled just before I ripped the canvas. Ah, well. Let's see if these work.'  
  
He stepped up to the painting. There was a squat knight resting against his fat, dapple-gray pony as he snored in his sleep. Sirius jabbed his finger against the painted knight.  
  
"Hey, wake up," he hissed under his breath.  
  
After several more pokes, the knight jerked awake.  
  
"What? Who should this creeper of the night be? A villain, mayhaps?" he proclaimed loudly, causing Sirius to wince. The knight drew a long broadsword from his scabbard and tried to brandish it at him. "Who dares challenge Sir Cadogan?" The sword's tip fell heavily to the grass, and the knight toppled backwards.  
  
Sirius decided that if he was to ever get inside the common room, he'd better do something now. He picked to play along with the knight's game.  
  
"Sir Cadogan, you said?" he inquired as politely as he could with his scratchy voice. "You are the brave knight to guard this great tower?"  
  
Sir Cadogan jumped up noisily. "Ah, so you have heard news of my fame during your travels? What quest heeds you tonight, good sir?"  
  
"To gain entrance to this tower of yours, sir knight."  
  
"And might the password be of your knowledge?"  
  
Sirius took out the crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket and began to read from it.  
  
".oddsbodikins-"  
  
"Yesterday," the knight replied. He had by now resumed sitting against his sleeping pony.  
  
Sirius glanced at the last choice.  
  
"Yowling yeomen."  
  
"Ah ho! Entrance granted!" Sir Cadogan jumped to his feet again and bowed. "Enjoy ye visit, sir!"  
  
The portrait swung open to reveal a hole in the wall, and Sirius climbed through. The room was dark, but he could still see by the February moonlight shining through one of the windows. Sirius noticed many discarded candy wrappers, butterbeer and pumpkin fizz bottles; it seemed as if there had been a rowdy party earlier that night.  
  
Taking the old and familiar route up to the boys' dormitories, Sirius received an onslaught of memories. Remembering one particular night, he scowled as he carefully slipped up the stairs.  
  
/ * ~ * / * ~ * / * ~ * /  
  
"Come on, you two!" a twelve-year-old Sirius hissed to the only other occupants of the room. He seemed to be grasping something in the air, but nothing was visible between his fingers. "Stop moving around, James!" he cried suddenly, and let go of whatever he was holding.  
  
Peter was glancing around the room warily. "Are.are you sure this is a good idea, James?" he asked the room.  
  
"Of course I'm sure, Pete!" a voice came out of the air behind him. Peter jumped away. "When have I been _wrong_?"  
  
"I'm not going to answer that one," Remus replied as he tied his worn- out and graying trainers.  
  
Sirius snickered.  
  
Suddenly Remus crashed to the floor, toppling off of his bed as he flailed his arms helplessly.  
  
"_James_! Get off me!" he grabbed at the air near the ground, and suddenly a bespectacled and messy-haired boy appeared, sprawled halfway on top of the thin boy. His foot was caught in a blanket.  
  
James straightened up with as much dignity as possible. "Well, if you hadn't waved your arms all over the place like you thought you could fly without a broomstick, then it never would've happened."  
  
Remus raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so now it's _my_ fault?"  
  
James nodded curtly. "Absolutely right." He plucked the silvery cloak from Remus's grasp. "Shall we go then?"  
  
Peter now grinned. "So how're we going to make sure-"  
  
"Snivellus gets the right plate in the morning?" James finished. "You'll see. You'll see."  
  
/ * ~ * / * ~ * / * ~ * /  
  
Sirius passed six doors before he reached the third years' room at the very top of the tower. He slowly opened the door to keep it from making any noise. He left it open.  
  
There were five four-poster beds arranged around the large room.  
  
'Now which one is it?' he wondered. 'The cat said he belonged to a fire-haired, loud boy-wizard, and that his bed was next to a dark-haired boy-wizard.Harry..'  
  
Sirius pursed his dry lips together and reached out a thin shaking hand toward the scarlet curtains around a bed that he knew wasn't the one he had come up for. Quietly, he gently slid the hangings open about a foot. A ray of moonlight fell on the inside of the curtains.  
  
A small boy with messy black hair and a thin face slept with a relaxed, peaceful expression.  
  
Sirius sucked in his breath as he saw the image of a similar messy- haired boy lying fast asleep while a hand - Sirius's hand - held out a bucket of slimy, wriggling larvae over his head and someone with limp, faded brown hair stifled a laugh behind him.  
  
Harry's face twitched, and a little frown appeared on his face. His eyeballs were moving beneath his eyelids; he was dreaming. Sirius resisted the strong paternal urge to touch Harry's forehead to calm him.  
  
Just as Sirius began to pull the curtains back, Harry's hand reached out toward Sirius's arm, and he murmured in an anxious voice, "Wait for me.."  
  
Terribly shaken, Sirius forced himself to close the hangings all the way when he realized Harry was still asleep. He took a deep, steadying breath that did nothing to help. Instead, he felt a rush of rage toward the man who had laid everything Sirius cared about to waste.  
  
Scowling deeply, he drew out his knife, raising it above his head, and steeped before the bed next to Harry's.  
  
'The rat will pay!'  
  
The knife came sharply down across the thick curtain. He tore down the whole side of the hangings and peered in, searching.  
  
The red-haired boy beneath the blankets shivered and awoke. They just stared at each other in shock. Sirius still held the knife high.  
  
'He's not here!' his mind screamed.  
  
Then the boy's mind began to work, and he screamed loudly.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" ((A/N: Hehe, I actually counted how many letters are in the book!))  
  
Sirius jumped back abruptly, his ears ringing with the sudden noise. He had just barely registered the sound of Harry fumbling with his hangings before he sprinted for the door. The other boys in the room were beginning to awake.  
  
He seized the door handle.  
  
"What's going on?" a boy's Irish accented voice demanded from a bed near Sirius.  
  
Sirius slammed the door behind him and fled down the stairs. He pushed the portrait hole open and fell out of it into the corridor.  
  
"Ah, you're back! How was you visit, good sir?"  
  
Ignoring the painting, Sirius ran around the corner and transformed into a great black, bear-like dog once out of sight. Then he bounded out of the castle and into the forest where he would be safe.  
  
But what was he going to do about Peter _now_?  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
A/N: Well, that was fun. *rolls eyes* Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep the crazy knight in character when you don't know very many old sayings and dialects? Ergh. Anyway, please review! I'd love to hear what you think. This was all written last night, as I knew I couldn't fit the third book in my bag when we go camping in a couple hours (lol, I had to look back and forth so many times while writing this). 


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